London Speech 



OF 



Arthur E. Randle 

(Founder of Congress Heights, D.C.J. 



TO Toast: 

^bt capital of tbt american Eeputilic.'' 



°^ 



The " London Times," " Post," and " News " gave an interesting account 
of the event. The last-named paper says : — 

" An American dinner was given last nightatthe Hotel Metropole, at which were pre- 
sent General Stanley, U.S. Army, Mr. Crosby Noyes, editor of the Washington Star, Mr. 
A. E. Randle, of Washington, and others. Atoneendof the table was a large block of ice 
labelled "Alaska," with a thin red boundary line drawn across it, flanked by American 
and British flags either side of the boundary. At the opposite end was a small brass 
cannon on a pedestal labelled " Philippines." The sides of the table bore a basket of 
fruit representing Puerto Rico, and a large cone of sugar representing Hawaii. Mr. 
Randle spoke of the ' Future of Washington."' 



Put in pamphlet form and distributed by Americans in London, 



THE FUTURE 

OF 

WASHINGTON. 



BY 

ARTHUR E. RANDLE 

(Founder of Congress Heights, T).C.J, 



f; 



'T^ 



.ir\c.\s 



JUL 28 19n 



AMERICAN DINNER IN LONDON. 

Probably the most unique event ever given in London was that 
of the American dinner at the Hotel Metropoie, on the evening of 
September nth. The dinner was given in one of the private rooms 
of the hotel, which was beautifully decorated. One end of the table 
represented the Philippines with a cannon in front of General 
Stanley of the U.S. Army, who spoke of the American boys carrying 
the flag around the world. At the other end was an iceberg 
representing "Alaska" with a red ribbon stretched across it for the 
disputed boundary line. American and British flags flanked the 
boundary. When the ribbon became damp from its contact with the 
ice and sent its crimson color along the border line, some thought it 
a bad omen, but Mr. Crosby Noyes, editor of the "Washington 
Star," who occupied this seat, known as " Alaska," spoke in such friendly 
terms of England that it was suggested that the color from the ribbon 
simply meant the boundary line question was fading out and would 
in time disappear. A mountain of sugar was in front of the 
" Hawaii " plate, and fruits and flowers surrounded that of " Porto 
Rico." Mr. Randle, who spoke to the toast, "The Capital of the 
American Republic," made a most interesting and patriotic speech, in 
which he showed by precedent and logical deductions that Washington 
in time would be the largest city on the American continent. In 
conclusion he roasted Mr. Astor foi giving up American citizenship 
for that of another to which he had not even a lineage claim. When 
Mr. Randle finished, the whole company rose and drank his health. 
Mr. Handle's speech was as follows : — 



Progress, the pioneer, blazes his way through the virgin 
forest, fells the trees, uproots the stumps, burns the vines, 
ditches the lands, but when night falls leaves the " New 
Ground," and returns to the "Old Homestead," to rest beneath 
its shady porches and quench his thirsi with the water drawn 
in the "old oaken bucket." 1 have always associated America 
with the "New Ground" and England with the "Old Home- 
stead," and while in the Capital of the old homestead, London, 
we marvel at its colossal size, our thoughts naturally return to 
the capital of the great American Republic, and we wonder if 
it will ever rival this great capital in population and importance. 
This is no idle thought. It is more and more borne in upon 
me that it is the "manifest destiny" — to use an honored 
American phrase— that the white domed city on the Potomac 
shall take a leading place among the largest cities of the 
world. Let me follow out this thought and institute a few 
comparisons which may present the idea to you as 1 see it. 

We are told that Washington can never be as large as 
New York City, because our port is not as good as that of the 
latter, but by precedent and logical deductions this idea is a 
most erroneous one, as 1 shall presently show. 1 maintain 
that there is no question but that Washington will, in time, 
be the largest city on the American Continent, if not in the 
world. Joseph Cook once said that " with the modern 
facilities of travel there were no longer any foreign lands," so 
on board of the geographical and statistical train of thought I 
will take you over enough countries in a few minutes to con- 
vince you of the great future before the capital of our great 
country. 

Crossing the broad Atlantic, I will not pause at the 
"Green Isle," for that is really a part of Great Britain, 
although the witty Irishman claims that his capital is Dublin 
every year ; but land you at once at Liverpool, whose dock 
system is the largest and most magnificent in the world. Its 



facilities as a seaport are unequalled by any other city in the 
United Kingdom, yet its population is only, according to the last 
census, 517,980, while that of London the capital, was given 
as 4,504,766, and at the present time is thought to reach 
upwards of 5,000,000 inhabitants. Now London is situated on 
the River Thames, not half as large as the Potomac, and is 
sixty miles from the sea, and is not a manufacturing city, but 
simply the capital of Great Britain. Now, after a rough 
passage across the English Channel, undecided at which port 
to land, like an old bachelor, crossing on his craft "Court- 
ship," when asked at which port in France he would land, said 
"Havre" (have her) or "Rouen" (ruin). We will, however, 
land at both, in order to make a comparison. Havre, which 
disputes with its rival, Marseilles, which has a population of 
442,239, the honor of being the principal seaport town of 
France, had at the last census less than 119,470 inhabitants. 

Rouen, situated further up the Seine and nearer to Paris, 
had at the last census 113,219, while the capital had 2,536,834 
people living within its environs. Now the River Seine at 
Paris is not as large as the eastern branch of the Potomac, 
and yet Paris has a population more than twenty times as 
large as the seaport Havre, and five times that of Marseilles, 
the principal port on the Mediterranean. Thus we see that 
the capital cities of the mercurial Frenchmen, and of the com- 
mercial Englishman, are the largest and most important towns 
of their respective countries, although the language, habits, 
and general temperament of the people are entirely different. 
Let us cross the border into Germany, which to do a few years 
ago without proper passports meant death. Here among the 
hardy, hale and thrifty people, who have a language and 
individuality of their own, and whose sons have done so 
much to build up America, we find Hamburg the principal sea- 
port, with a population of 625,552, while its capital, Berlin, 
had at the last census no less than 1,677,304 inhabitants. 

5 



The student of history will find upon careful investigation 
that the growth and material prosperity of the capital of 
Germany is not dependent upon the advantages of locality. 
It is located on the River Spree, some distance from the sea, 
A more unfavourable site could not have been selected. The 
Spree at this point is only about two hundred feet wide, with 
a sluggish current. The couatry is flat, with a sandy soil, 
and in summer it is intensely hot, while high winds envelope 
the citizens in clouds of dust, and in winter it is bitterly cold. 
The city, notwithstanding these natural disadvantages, con- 
tinues steadily to increase in wealth, influence, and popula- 
tion, simply and solely because it is the capital of the Con- 
federated States of the German Empire. Entering the 
enterprising little kingdom of Belgium, which, from the 
frequent decisive battles that have taken place upon its soil, 
has not inaptly been termed the "Cockpit of Europe," we 
find Antwerp, beautifully situated as a seaport with only 
232,723 inhabitants, while Brussels, situated on the Senne 
River, a mere creek at that place compared to the Potomac, 
has a population of 551,011, or nearly twice as many people as 
Antwerp. 

Adjoining this little nation on the north, we come to a 
country they say the Almighty forgot to make, and left it for 
the Dutchmen to create — Holland. Amsterdam, the former 
capital, notwithstanding the difficulty of its access to the 
sea, which has since been remedied by the cutting of a canal, 
was by far the must populous city in that land of dykes. 
Since 1808, however, the seat of Government has been The 
Hague, then little more than a fishing village, but which has 
now over 196,325 inhabitants, and is rapidly increasing in both 
wealth and material prosperity, and bids fair to become one of 
the most beautiful and populous cities of Holland, solely on 
account of its being the capital. 

Leaving Holland we will go to that once leading Empire 



of the Latin race, where bull-fighting and surrendering terri- 
tory to the United States seem to be its principal business at 
present — Spain. Here we find Madrid, the capital city, an 
inland town situated on the river Manzaneres, only navigable 
for vessels drawing lo feet of water, and which runs dry in 
summer, far exceeding both Barcelona and Cadiz, its principal 
seaports, in population, wealth and political prestige. Madrid 
had at the last census a population of 470,283. 

If we turn to the neighboring country, Portugal, we find 
the same holds good, for Oporto, its principal seaport town, 
does not vie with its capital, Lisbon, on the Tagus river, in 
wealth, population or influence. Passing through the Straits 
of the mighty Gibraltar, with the intelligence and industry of 
Europe on the one side and the ignorance and superstition of 
Africa on the other, we come to that land of poesy and song, 
Italy, whose capital, Rome, at one time dominated the world. 
Built upon low marshy ground, on the banks of the river 
Tiber, inaccessible from the sea for any but the shallowest 
draught vessels, it rose in power and wealth until it dwarfed 
every other city in the then known world. Rome at the 
zenith of her power had, it is estimated, a population of 
1,500,000 inhabitants. So identified was the capital with the 
power and prestige of the Roman Empire that the fall of the 
latter may be dated from the time when the Imperial City 
echoed to the tread of the hosts of the barbarian invader, and 
Italy, to use Talleyrand's words, became for years "a geogra- 
phical expression.'' Once more we have a united Italy, but 
it is only since 1870 that Rome has again become the capital, 
and is rapidly gaining in both wealth and population, while 
Florence, the former capital, since its abandonment as the 
seat of Government, is losing ground. Passing into the 
Adriatic Sea we land at Trieste, Austria's leading seaport ; 
still Vienna, on the Danube, at its confluence with the Wien, 
far exceeds it both in importance and population, the last 



census giving to Vienna, the capital, 1,364,548 inhabitants and 
Trieste 158,344 inhabitants. 

Servia with a total population of two millions and a 
quarter has for its capital Belgrade, situated at the confluence 
of the Save and Danube. This is the largest and most im- 
portant city in the Principality, and one of the strongest in- 
land towns in Europe. It is the chief entrepot of commerce 
between Austria and Turkey, and has been the object of 
fierce contentions between its neighbors in times past. Its 
principal port is Milanovatz, much smaller. Crossing the so- 
called beautiful blue Danube, but which is here a dirty, 
muddy river, we find ourselves in Roumania, whose soldiers 
proved so helpful to the Russians at a critical period of their 
last war with Turkey. Bucharest, its capital, situated on the 
river Dombovitza, thirty miles from the Danube, has a popula- 
tion of 232,000, while Galatz, the principal port, has only 
57,500 inhabitants. 

Now let us vary the journey and go north to Sweden and 
Norway. Here there are two capitals with one king. It is said 
that Norway simply .borrows a king from her sister nation for 
three weeks in the year. Christiania, the capital, is the 
largest city, although Bergen is superior as a seaport town. 
The same holds good for Sweden ; Stockholm, the capital, 
being far ahead of Gothenburg, the principal seaport. Sand- 
wiched in between these two countries and Germany is the 
proud little kingdom of Denmark, the blood of whose rulers 
courses through the veins of nearly all the Royalty of Europe. 
Copenhagen is its capital with a population of 312,859, and its 
principal seaport Aarhuus, has only a population of 33,308. 

Sailing easterly on the Baltic, we come to the mighty 
nation of Russia. Its former capital, Moscow, was at one time 
the most powerful city in all Russia, although an inland town. 
Peter the Great, with his wonderful spirit of progress, and 
with a view of making Moscow less powerful in the politics of 

8 



the Empire (Moscow occupied at that time much the same 
position as Paris does towards France, being the centre of 
all the political intrigues of the day), travelled to the north- 
west and located a city in the marshes partly on the continent 
and islands in the river Neva, and made it the capital, 
St. Petersburg, naming it after himself. It is now by far the 
most important city in the Russian Empire. Its population was 
1,267,023 in 1897, when the last census was taken, notwith- 
standing that for nearly half the year it is practically closed 
to oversea commerce. Russia, has like the United States, a 
vast area of territory and several important seaports, and 
hence we get a practical illustration of the benefits of the 
location of the capital. St. Petersburg is double the size of 
the old capital. Here a pertinent question may be asked. 
Which is the greater nation, the United States or Russia? 
If Russia's capital has grown to over a million in two hundred 
years since it was founded, why should not the capital city of 
the United States, the richest nation on earth, keep pace with 
that of Russia ? 

Leaving Russia we will take a glance at Greece, whose 
capital, Athens, was once the centre of cultured Europe. 
Athens was the fountain from which flowed all the streams of 
learning, science and art, which have enriched the earth. The 
population of Athens was at the last census 111,486, while 
Corinth, its port, is much smaller. 

Sailing down the Black Sea through the Bosphorus we 
salute the Sultan of Turkey, whose name is held in detestation 
by Christians of all denominations for his persecutions of the 
Armenians, Still we are compelled to pay him the same 
courtesy as other sovereigns with whom the United States is 
at peace. 

Now we have passed through Christian Europe, and we 
have found that in spite of change of habits, temperament 
and language, their capitals grow to be their largest cities. 



We shall soon see whether this rule still prevails among a 
different race of people altogether. The Turk is unique 
among nationalities. His dregs, habits, religion and social 
customs set him apart even from his co-religionists of the 
East. When we look at Turkey what do we find .-' Why, 
that Constantinople is by far the largest and most important 
city, not of Turkey but of the Levant. This city was founded 
by Constantine the Great upon the ruins of Byzantium, a city 
of the ancients. It was the capital of the eastern Empire as 
Rome was of the west, when that Imperial power was divided. 
It was captured by the Turks in 1453 and became the capital 
of the Turkish Empire, and it at once became a great city. 
Had it not been made the seat of Government, it would have 
existed as a mere fortress. Going further among the wander- 
ing nomads of Asia we find that the capital of Persia, Teheran, 
79 miles from the Caspian Sea, has a population of 210,000. 
Persia has ports on three seas— the Caspian Sea, the Persian 
and Arabian Gulfs — yet none of these seaports are as popu- 
lous or as wealthy as the capital. Mecca, the capital city of 
Arabia, the birthplace of Mahomet, is a day's journey from the 
Red Sea, yet its population is three times that of any of its 
seaports, although one of these, Bussorah, is the principal port 
for the commerce of the Persian Gulf. 

Turning to India, Japan and those other nations whose 
religions are made up of Hindooism, Buddhism or fetish wor- 
ship, we find similar precedents. The capitals become the 
largest and most important cities. Take China with Shanghai 
and Hongkong as its principal seaports, but with the focus of 
our mental telescope elongated we can see the peacock feather 
of Li-Hung-Chang at Pekin, the capital, with a population 
estimated by Professor Legge and confirmed by Dr. Williams 
of the United States Legation at 1,000,000 inhabitants, larger 
than China's seaports Shanghai and Hong Konk added 
together. 

10 



Thus the rule that the capital city grows to be the largest 
and most important city of a nation, holds good with even the 
almond-eyed Mongolian as well as with his more enlightened 
Christian brother. 

Thus it is bound to be with the western hemisphere as it 
is with the eastern. 

It is a mere matter of time, but it will come sooner or 
later, that Washington, the capital of the youngest, proudest 
and most powerful nation on earth, will be the most populous, 
wealthy and finest city on the American continent, if not of 
the world. 

Before I sit down let us congratulate England on having 
the largest capital and being the world's greatest coloniser, 
whose fleet is the mistress of the seas ; her power awakes the 
admiration of the world. To be an Englishman is a proud 
inheritance, and as long as the same music plays "God Save 
the Queen" and "My Country 'tis of Thee," we shall stand 
united to civilize the world. 

We too have a proud heritage as citizens of the Western 
Republic, and when America's richest son, possessing a wealth 
equal to that of the Bank of England, greater than the capital 
of all the banks of New York City, more than the banking 
capital of half the States of the Union (with a power through 
wealth greater than the rulers of European principalities) 
leaves the place of his birth after a political defeat for a 
country to which he has not even a lineage claim, can never 
be a gain to another country where power must be as stable as 
loyalty herself. 

A United States Senator, who has a bill prepared to lay 
before Congress asking cognisance of the extraordinary action 
of this "ex-American," said he had taken a name honored 
and loved in America and eliminated the last three letters 
and added an " s," and that his toadyism to Royalty may be 
rewarded with a title, but should a lordship frown on this 

II 



ex-American, he may cross the Channel and become a French- 
man, and a shrug from the shoulders may send him across 
the line to join Emperor William, or he may possibly, to spite 
his native land, becom.e a Spaniard on the slightest provoca- 
tion. 

Our English friends may take it as a cue if they see 
the hair of this ex-American growing long, look out, he may 
be preparing to jump into the Flowery Kingdom, and become 
a Chinese citizen, 

America asks to write as his epitaph: — 

" Breathes there a man, with a soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell. 

Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 

And, doubly dying, shall go down 

To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 

Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung." 

A higher honor Heaven never granted than citizenship 
in the country made possible by Washington anc^ immortal- 
ised by Jefferson. 




EDITORIAL IN "WESTMINSTER GAZETTE." 

THAT must have been what you would call an expansionist dinner last 
night at the Hotel Metropole, where Americans (Big, not Little) 
foregathered. A basket of fruit represented " Porto Rico," a large cone 
of sugar Hawaii— America's two new possessions. As to the 
Philippines, these (most appropriately) were typified by a small brass 
cannon, whilst Alaska was represented by a large block of ice. As a 
concession to British susceptibilities a thin red boundary line was 
drawn across this block on either side of which were the American and 
British flags. This sort of symbolism on the dinner-table may become 
popular, and we cannot help thinking how we should proceed to 
typify the British possessions all over the world. Some would be fairly 
easy— Australia, for instance, would clearly want a stuffed Kangaroo. 
But how would that wonderful "suzerainty" figure, we wonder? 
According to some, we are rather afraid it would be another case of 
a small brass cannon. 



